Rijkaard and Facchetti @Joga Bonito
The UEFA Euro Fantasy Draft
- Thread starter Balu
- Start date
yeah, it was obvious that you were after him
I was hoping for a miracle and no one would pick him.
Where would we have played him eap?
In place of Deschamps...but that would mean giving up MvB. went for MvB instead.
Edit: What I meant in above comment was no one picking him.
No, Müller would have made it three Germans. Some of you in a real pickle with nationalities right now.
Bar harms, obviously.
Bar harms, obviously.
Deschamps takes the place of Schweign and Rijkaard Deschamps.
Will post my pick in a while (could be some time esp with the upcoming match), just pondering over something.
Sindelar has had a good tournament here for being one of the first for him(maybe the first?). Hopefully he will be picked in future drafts as he has another gear in him even.
At the moment he still has to play, he's one of only 3 pre-66 players in Joga's team if I'm not mistaken.
He is, but Joga will most likely pick another pre-66 (?) midfielder and play him. Sindelar and Platini are hardly a good fit.
I do expect that as well, but you never know.
You dodged a bullet there then. Reminds me of that absurd sub you proposed in your game with Sneijder and can't even remember who on for Kluivert and Breitner.
Edit: Hierro
If only you hadn't picked so many players that would lastjust one game (or none with Pepe) you would have far more flexibility right now.
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What Harms said. Can't see how he can play Sindelar and Platini together, would be terrible in all honesty at this stage. I guess he could play Sindelar and try to argue that his dribbling would allow him to function in the role but in a semi final it is begging for trouble.
Described by Alfredo Di Stéfano as "the architect", Luis Suárez Miramontes remains one of the most decorated players in the history of the game, winning league titles in Spain and Italy, two European Cups, the UEFA European Championship and the Ballon d'Or.
After honing his skills on the streets of A Coruna with balls made from cloths, Suárez debuted for RC Deportivo La Coruña in 1953 aged 18. His time with his local team proved brief as he struggled to make his mark against senior players far older and tougher than him.
FC Barcelona took a chance on the attacking midfielder, who truly came into his own when Helenio Herrera arrived at the Camp Nou in 1958. The Argentinian coach was notoriously hard to please, but was instantly impressed by Suárez, calling him "a great organiser of teams" who "lived an exemplary life".
The Galician relished the importance Herrera gave him in a side brimming with the attacking talent of László Kubala, Evaristo de Macedo, Justo Tejada, Zoltán Czibor and Sándor Kocsis. Barcelona blossomed, winning a league and cup double in 1959 and then the league again the next year. In 1960 Suárez became the first – and so far only – Spaniard to claim the Ballon d'Or, presenting the trophy to Barcelona's club museum on 29 April this year.
"I was the organiser," he said of his role in Herrera's team. "I started deep but covered a lot of ground and I had a wide perspective and vision. I had a change of pace, good technique and could shoot from outside the box." He shares a special affinity with one of his Barça successors, saying: "I recognise myslef in Andrés Iniesta, because he's always looking to finish off a move himself or looking for a team-mate to score."
Suárez came close to European glory with Barcelona in 1961, losing 3-2 to SL Benfica in a logic-defying European Cup final in which the Blaugrana hit the woodwork five times. That night in Berne was one of his last outings for Barça; that summer he joined mentor Herrera at FC Internazionale Milano for a then record fee of 25 million pesetas, around €150,000.
"I don't think I would have ever agreed to leave Spain if it was not for Herrera," reflected Suárez. "He was well ahead of his time. His training sessions lasted half the time of other teams but we were twice as tired because of their intensity."
The feeling was mutual. "To build a great Inter side, I needed a great midfielder and Suárez was the best," explained Herrera. With Suárez the last piece in Herrera's jigsaw, Inter landed their first Serie A championship in nine years in 1963, and the following year lifted the European Cup,ousting Real Madrid CF 3-1 in the final with Suárez winning the man of the match.
"My best memory is definitely the Vienna final against Real Madrid for several reasons," Suárez reminisced. "It was only then that we realised we were such a great team. We had beaten a fantastic side who had dominated European football. For me, a former Barcelona player, I got double satisfaction. I will never forget the light in the eyes of our president [Angelo Moratti] after our triumph in Vienna. If I was a painter and I had to paint 'happiness', I would try to reproduce those eyes."
Yet Suárez was not merely content to conquer Europe with his club: that same summer he helped Spain to glory at the UEFA European Championship on home soil. Then aged 29 and the nation's most senior player, he spearheaded a young squad to victories against Hungary in the semi-finals and the Soviet Union in the final.
Another European Cup triumph followed with Inter in 1965, this time over Benfica. The Nerazzurri got to the final again in 1967, although injury prevented Suárez playing any part in it. He ended his career with 2 La Ligas, 2 Copa Del Reys, 2 UEFA cups, 3 Serie A, 2 Champions League trophies and 2 Intercontinental Cups.
Euro exploits
A black and white photo in the 1964 archives shows two men from Galicia facing each other. A small man is bowing respectfully to an upright man wearing a uniform. The one comes from La Coruna, the other from Ferrol. The smaller of the two is the professional footballer Luis Suárez Miramontes, who, at the moment the picture was taken, is being congratulated by the seemingly unapproachable General Franco with a beaming smile on his face in the “El Pardo Palace” in Madrid. Franco was not to be denied the chance of congratulating the idol of many Spaniards after the greatest achievement in the history of Spanish football at an official ceremony.
Four years previously the dictatorship had prevented a similar scene from even taking place. 1960 had been a big year for Spanish football. It marked the first time that the “European Cup of Nations”, which was to become the UEFA European Football Championships™, was competed for. Spain were the favourites as they had players of the calibre of the great Luis Suarez in their line-up. The star at champions Barcelona, he was voted Europe’s Player of the Year in 1960.
But the feared Franco thwarted the plans of Spanish football fans and the national team. After wins (4-2 and 3-0) against Poland in round of the last 16, the dictator did not allow the Spanish national eleven to take the field for the first leg of the quarterfinals against Russia in Moscow.
Everything was different in the second European Nations Cup. But on the way to winning the cup in 1964, the Spanish were no longer as outstanding as they had been. They struggled in qualifying but still beat Romania, Northern Ireland and Ireland in succession and were then awarded the right to hold the finals on home soil. The Spanish team was given a new look after the FIFA World Cup™ disaster in 1962: coach Jose Villalonga, who was also the Atletico Madrid coach, ignored all the naturalised foreigners such as Alfredo di Stefano, Jose Santamaria and Ferenc Puskas. At times the man from the capital formed his team around the “legionaries” Luis C. Del Sol (Juventus) and Suarez (Inter Milan).
After he had named his players for the finals in Madrid and Barcelona, the only player still remaining from his star studded side was Suarez. Del Sol sat in the stands. Suarez took hold of the reins after he had missed the qualifying matches. His selection was not without a little controversy. In 1961 Suarez was transferred for the then record sum of ₤142,000 from Barcelona to Inter Milan. Worshipped up to then, the public’s anger now rained down on “Luisito”. The Spanish fans turned on their former favourite player calling him “Luis, the Italian”. Back then players moved clubs far more seldom that they do today.
But this “Italian” became the heart and soul of the Spanish team. He was also its creative genius. The Spanish Football Association had Suarez specially flown to each match with a private charter machine from Italy. And it was well worth it. In the semifinal Suarez provided the pass for right winger Amancio to score the winning goal in the 2-1 win against Hungary. In the final against the Soviet Union the then 29-year-old carved out both goals to gave the Spanish side a 2-1 win. The USSR keeper Lev Jaschin’s spell had been broken. Spain’s brilliant footballers had succeeded in winning a major title with their national for the first and only time up to the present day. 120,000 spectators in “Bernabeu” celebrated “Luis, the Spaniard” once more. One month earlier, Suarez had won the European Cup with Inter – after beating Real Madrid 3-1.
The little boy, who was born on 2 May 1935 and whose career began in the La Coruna sand dunes, had become a national hero. “Luisito’s” father was a butcher, who had two sons – the big, strong and loud Pepino and the fragile, skinny and quiet Luis.
Nobody imagined then that the “little coward” Luis Suarez from the amateur club “Hercules” would one day land up at clubs like Deportivo La Coruna, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Sampdoria. In La Coruna they still call Luis Suarez Miramontes “our great son” right up to the present day. The man bought a clothing factory and invested money in bonds and property. But football always remained his great love, just like it once was on the beach of his home town on the Atlantic coast.
A more detailed profile of him which I did in the sheep draft.
Oh and happy birthday Suárez.
2. Edgar Allan Pillow & MJJ & coolredwine - 1. Puskás 2. Masopust 3. Gullit 4. Breitner 5. Deschamps 6. Sol Campbell 7. Schweinsteiger 8. Durkovic 9. Pepe 10. Schrojf 11. Hierro 12. Sneijder 13. Blanc 14. Kluivert 15. Van Basten
4. The Stain - 1. Zidane 2. Czibor 3. Amancio 4. Förster 5. Zagorakis 6. Shearer 7. Wimmer 8. Puyol 9. Combi 10. Zambrotta 11. Joao Pinto 12. Poborsky 13. Thuram 14. Davids 15. Beckenbauer
7. Joga Bonito - 1. Maldini 2. B.Moore 3. Sindelar 4. Bergomi 5. Effenberg 6. Pluskal 7. Hoeneß 8. Villa 9. Elkjær 10. McManaman 11. Demyanenko 12. Platzer 13. Rummenigge 14. Desailly 15. Platini 16. Luisito Suárez Miramontes
8. harms - 1. Dragan Džajić 2. Sárosi 3. Schuster 4. Voronin 5. Brehme 6. Ondruš 7. Bezsonov 8. Van Moer 9. Khurtsilava 10. Ivo Viktor 11. Chislenko 12. Pietro Rava 13. Meazza 14. Yashin 15. Rijkaard 16. Facchetti
@The Stain
4. The Stain - 1. Zidane 2. Czibor 3. Amancio 4. Förster 5. Zagorakis 6. Shearer 7. Wimmer 8. Puyol 9. Combi 10. Zambrotta 11. Joao Pinto 12. Poborsky 13. Thuram 14. Davids 15. Beckenbauer
7. Joga Bonito - 1. Maldini 2. B.Moore 3. Sindelar 4. Bergomi 5. Effenberg 6. Pluskal 7. Hoeneß 8. Villa 9. Elkjær 10. McManaman 11. Demyanenko 12. Platzer 13. Rummenigge 14. Desailly 15. Platini 16. Luisito Suárez Miramontes
8. harms - 1. Dragan Džajić 2. Sárosi 3. Schuster 4. Voronin 5. Brehme 6. Ondruš 7. Bezsonov 8. Van Moer 9. Khurtsilava 10. Ivo Viktor 11. Chislenko 12. Pietro Rava 13. Meazza 14. Yashin 15. Rijkaard 16. Facchetti
@The Stain
They chose the most flattering picture they could find
2. Edgar Allan Pillow & MJJ & coolredwine - 1. Puskás 2. Masopust 3. Gullit 4. Breitner 5. Deschamps 6. Sol Campbell 7. Schweinsteiger 8. Durkovic 9. Pepe 10. Schrojf 11. Hierro 12. Sneijder 13. Blanc 14. Kluivert 15. Van Basten 16.
4. The Stain - 1. Zidane 2. Czibor 3. Amancio 4. Förster 5. Zagorakis 6. Shearer 7. Wimmer 8. Puyol 9. Combi 10. Zambrotta 11. Joao Pinto 12. Poborsky 13. Thuram 14. Davids 15. Beckenbauer 16. Gerd Müller
7. Joga Bonito - 1. Maldini 2. B.Moore 3. Sindelar 4. Bergomi 5. Effenberg 6. Pluskal 7. Hoeneß 8. Villa 9. Elkjær 10. McManaman 11. Demyanenko 12. Platzer 13. Rummenigge 14. Desailly 15. Platini 16. Luisito Suárez Miramontes
8. harms - 1. Dragan Džajić 2. Sárosi 3. Schuster 4. Voronin 5. Brehme 6. Ondruš 7. Bezsonov 8. Van Moer 9. Khurtsilava 10. Ivo Viktor 11. Chislenko 12. Pietro Rava 13. Meazza 14. Yashin 15. Rijkaard 16. Facchetti
@Edgar Allan Pillow @MJJ @coolredwine
4. The Stain - 1. Zidane 2. Czibor 3. Amancio 4. Förster 5. Zagorakis 6. Shearer 7. Wimmer 8. Puyol 9. Combi 10. Zambrotta 11. Joao Pinto 12. Poborsky 13. Thuram 14. Davids 15. Beckenbauer 16. Gerd Müller
7. Joga Bonito - 1. Maldini 2. B.Moore 3. Sindelar 4. Bergomi 5. Effenberg 6. Pluskal 7. Hoeneß 8. Villa 9. Elkjær 10. McManaman 11. Demyanenko 12. Platzer 13. Rummenigge 14. Desailly 15. Platini 16. Luisito Suárez Miramontes
8. harms - 1. Dragan Džajić 2. Sárosi 3. Schuster 4. Voronin 5. Brehme 6. Ondruš 7. Bezsonov 8. Van Moer 9. Khurtsilava 10. Ivo Viktor 11. Chislenko 12. Pietro Rava 13. Meazza 14. Yashin 15. Rijkaard 16. Facchetti
@Edgar Allan Pillow @MJJ @coolredwine
We take Matthäus @Balu @Annahnomoss
Final teams for the semifinals
Final teams for the semifinals:
2. Edgar Allan Pillow & MJJ & coolredwine - 1. Puskás 2. Masopust 3. Gullit 4. Breitner 5. Deschamps 6. Sol Campbell 7. Schweinsteiger 8. Durkovic 9. Pepe 10. Schrojf 11. Hierro 12. Sneijder 13. Blanc 14. Kluivert 15. Van Basten 16. Matthäus
4. The Stain - 1. Zidane 2. Czibor 3. Amancio 4. Förster 5. Zagorakis 6. Shearer 7. Wimmer 8. Puyol 9. Combi 10. Zambrotta 11. Joao Pinto 12. Poborsky 13. Thuram 14. Davids 15. Beckenbauer 16. Gerd Müller
7. Joga Bonito - 1. Maldini 2. B.Moore 3. Sindelar 4. Bergomi 5. Effenberg 6. Pluskal 7. Hoeneß 8. Villa 9. Elkjær 10. McManaman 11. Demyanenko 12. Platzer 13. Rummenigge 14. Desailly 15. Platini 16. Luisito Suárez Miramontes
8. harms - 1. Dragan Džajić 2. Sárosi 3. Schuster 4. Voronin 5. Brehme 6. Ondruš 7. Bezsonov 8. Van Moer 9. Khurtsilava 10. Ivo Viktor 11. Chislenko 12. Pietro Rava 13. Meazza 14. Yashin 15. Rijkaard 16. Facchetti
2. Edgar Allan Pillow & MJJ & coolredwine - 1. Puskás 2. Masopust 3. Gullit 4. Breitner 5. Deschamps 6. Sol Campbell 7. Schweinsteiger 8. Durkovic 9. Pepe 10. Schrojf 11. Hierro 12. Sneijder 13. Blanc 14. Kluivert 15. Van Basten 16. Matthäus
4. The Stain - 1. Zidane 2. Czibor 3. Amancio 4. Förster 5. Zagorakis 6. Shearer 7. Wimmer 8. Puyol 9. Combi 10. Zambrotta 11. Joao Pinto 12. Poborsky 13. Thuram 14. Davids 15. Beckenbauer 16. Gerd Müller
7. Joga Bonito - 1. Maldini 2. B.Moore 3. Sindelar 4. Bergomi 5. Effenberg 6. Pluskal 7. Hoeneß 8. Villa 9. Elkjær 10. McManaman 11. Demyanenko 12. Platzer 13. Rummenigge 14. Desailly 15. Platini 16. Luisito Suárez Miramontes
8. harms - 1. Dragan Džajić 2. Sárosi 3. Schuster 4. Voronin 5. Brehme 6. Ondruš 7. Bezsonov 8. Van Moer 9. Khurtsilava 10. Ivo Viktor 11. Chislenko 12. Pietro Rava 13. Meazza 14. Yashin 15. Rijkaard 16. Facchetti
The first semifinal:
vs
SF 1: harms vs Joga Bonito
The second semifinal:
vs
SF 2: The Stain vs Team EAP
Does that mean, I should add @antohan to your trio and we call it a quartet from now on.
Don't mind as long as it's my name on the match threads!
Draw semifinal matches
List Randomizer
There were 4 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
There were 4 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
- 8. harms
- 7. Joga Bonito
- 4. The Stain
- 2. Edgar Allan Pillow & MJJ & coolredwine
The semifinal matches:
SF 1: harms vs Joga Bonito
SF 2: The Stain vs Team EAP
@harms @Joga Bonito @The Stain @Edgar Allan Pillow let me know the date you agreed on to play the game. I'd say, let's try to get the semifinals played over the next 5 days, next weekend at the latest if nothing else works out.
I don't think whoever they draw would be pleasedDoes that mean, I should add @antohan to your trio and we call it a quartet from now on.
Does anyone find the fact that Matthäus has points over his a rather than u, really annoying and distracting or is it just me?
Any weekday works for me @Edgar Allan Pillow
Why should he have points over his u? I don't think "aü" exists in German. Do you find "ä" annoying in general? Like in Häßler for example? Or is it just in the combination with "u"?
Unlucky that The Stain didn't go Facchetti-Muller. He dropped me a PM but I was sleeping.The second semifinal:
vs
SF 2: The Stain vs Team EAP
Epic games coming up!
@Balu would find the ü distracting
It's a proof of his Eüro credentials, I'm sure.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Can't say i'm too disappointed having the best defender in the draft, though.Unlucky that The Stain didn't go Facchetti-Muller. He dropped me a PM but I was sleeping.
Epic games coming up!
Monday? Let's do this fast!
What? When did you pick Blanc?
How about Tuesday?
